Crisis Line Volunteering: Experience the Rewards!

Commitment

Volunteers are required to commit to a minimum of 200 hours of Crisis Intervention work, consisting of a minimum of three four-hour shifts and one eight-hour overnight shift per month. Volunteers will be considered to have completed the commitment only if the 200 hours includes a minimum of eight overnight shifts. Volunteers can only be excepted from working overnight shifts for child care purposes or valid medical reasons.

Interview

The interview provides the applicant and the Crisis Society with an opportunity to assess mutual compatibility and to gain an understanding of how the applicant’s skills and interests fit with the work of the society. There are two training groups per year. Successful applicants will be included in the next available group.

The primary prerequisites for taking part in the training program are demonstrated listening and empathy skills, personal life stability, and the ability to honour our volunteer commitment.

Fees

Registrants are required to pay a training fee of $100.00 by the first training session. This fee is only refundable before the end of the first training session. The fee also includes membership with the Vancouver Island Crisis Society.

Make-up sessions are available under rare circumstances for any trainee who needs to miss a training session. This requires prior approval of the supervisory staff.

A $40.00 fee will be applied to the first make-up session.

A $60.00 fee will be applied for the second make-up session.

A maximum of two make-up sessions are permitted. If a trainee will miss more than two sessions of training, they will be deferred to the next training course.

There will be no make-up session for Session 7 which covers suicide.

Please note that there is a fee for the criminal record check in most communities. A letter can be provided by the Crisis Society that informs the administrators of the criminal record check that this pertains to your application for a volunteer position (in some communities, this will reduce the cost of the criminal record check).

For more information, please contact the Crisis Line Training Department at info@vicrisis.ca